Accessing home network router setup or console

This document is meant to provide home network users a general resource on how to access their router setup or console and adjust the settings and information. Because of how many different routers are available today, not all of the steps below may apply to you.

Tip: Skip all the steps below by trying the most common IP router addresses. Click either http://192.168.1.1 or http://192.168.2.1 to open a new window in your browser with the router setup. If these links do not work follow the steps below.

Determine router address

Before being able to access the router you must determine what its IP address is. This can be done by following the steps listed below.

If you have multiple network adapters make sure you are looking at the Ethernet adapter. The Default Gateway address is the IP address of your router connected to your computer. In the above example the IP address we want to remember is 192.168.1.1.

Linux users can follow the same steps listed above for Windows users. However, instead of using the ipconfig command in the console you would want to be using the ifconfig command.

Multiple routers

If you are using multiple routers in your network setup, make sure you have got the IP address for the router you are wanting. If you are not wanting to view the setup or console of the router you are directly connected to try performing a traceroute.

To do a traceroute if you are running Microsoft Windows type: tracert computerhope.com and if you are using Linux type: traceroute computerhope.com either of these commands should give you an output similar to the example below.

As can be seen in the above example, the first two hops are the internal routers. If we want to look at the router connected to the Internet the address we would remember the address is 192.168.2.1.

Accessing the router

Once you have determined the IP address of the router you want to access, open an Internet browser window and in the address bar type the IP address. So, if you are IP address was 192.168.2.1 enter "192.168.2.1" in the address bar.

If accessible, you should be prompted for a username and password. Enter this information. If you do not know this information it is likely the default username and password is being used (this should be changed), the default information for your router can be found in the router documentation. Often it is either "admin" or "administrator" as both username and password or one or the other as the username and no password.

After entering the proper username and password you should have full access to the router and be able to manage the router and its settings.

Unable to access

If you are unable to access the router using the above steps, try pinging the router IP address by typing: ping 192.168.1.1 (enter your router IP address if different) at the command prompt or in the console. If you do not get a response back, check your network connections.

If you get a ping response back but cannot access the router through the above steps, it is possible that your router settings are accessed differently. Alternatively you can try telneting to the router.